1. Definition of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to workroom and garage storage organizers and, in particular, to a slatwall track.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The walls of a building in residential, commercial and industrial buildings are frequently provided with one or more slatwall tracks used to display a variety of objects off the floor of the building. The objects can be similar, such as in a display for merchandise in retail stores, for example shoes, or they can vary in shape, size, weight and type, such as in a garage or workshop, etc. to suspend, for example, gardening or other handtools.
The slatwall tracks are made of metal, metal alloys or plastic and formed by an extrusion process.
Slatwall tracks are generally secured to a building structure, which includes without limitation any walls, such as temporary or permanent walls. The walls may or may not be covered with wallboard. The slatwall tracks are attached with screws directly to walls having physical strength, to an existing frame or studs normally used to hold the wallboard.
Often a slatwall track is interlockingly connected with a similar upper and lower slatwall tracks. Sometimes there is spacing between slatwall tracks in which case that spacing must be uniform to provide an even and aesthetically pleasing surface.
When slatwall tracks are mounted on the walls of a workroom or a garage, in order to create an appealing, more pleasant environment, the choice is generally limited to the use of wallboard which must be usually painted.
Attempts to improve the structural configuration of slatwall tracks have been made and are reflected in patents. Thus, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,490 granted on Oct. 13, 1998 to Current for a “SLATWALL SECTION AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME” describes a slatwall track of uniform thickness with an upper and lower leg for intermeshing with contiguous above or bellow identical slatwall tracks. The upper and lower leg are provided with holes for securing them together and also to a wall. The total thickness of both legs is equal to the uniform thickness of the remainder of the slatwall track. The main shortcomings of the foregoing slatwall track reside in the fact that in reality there is no uniform thickness throughout the entire track, which complicates the extrusion process, and an attachment to a wall is not specifically designed for a single track, which can be sometimes the case. Another shortcoming is due to the fact that no means are provided to cover the spacing between spaced slatwall tracks when the securing wall is not a finished one. Moreover, the attachment of the track is located at the extremities of the latter and not along its center of symmetry.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,837,384 granted on Jan. 4, 2005 to Secondino for a “STORAGE TRACK” configured for use with a panel, such as a pegboard. The storage track is extruded with a horizontal “L” groove along its length for accepting most standard display accessories, such as hooks, shelf brackets, etc. The storage track incorporates as well two channels that run horizontally along its length to receive upper and lower panels. The upper channel mates with a bottom edge of the upper panel, while the lower channel mates with a top edge of the lower panel. Furthermore, the storage track is used in combination with hollow tubular elements to provide the necessary spacing between a wall, onto which the storage track is secured, and pegboard panels. The latter float between the two horizontal channels of the storage tracks. One disadvantage of the foregoing storage track resides in the fact that there is no rigid and sufficient secure attachment of the pegboard panels to the storage track. Another disadvantage is due to the fact that there are no means provided to cover the spacing between spaced storage tracks, when the wall of the building was not finished.
Yet another example is International Patent Application WO 93/00846 published on 21 Jan. 1993 under the title “ARRANGEMENT FOR A HOLLOW PROFILE MOULDING”, inventors Becker et al. This application describes an assembly of slatwall tracks horizontally extending and vertically succeeding, which are interlocked preferably with tongued and grooved type coupling. Each slatwall track incorporates front vertical elements so disposed that an opening is formed between two consecutive front vertical elements. The opening is adaptable to accommodate object supports. The assembly also includes fixtures which permit the detachable supporting of sheet-shaped panels. The main disadvantage of this assembly is the lack of means for retaining and securing an aesthetically appealing panel, between two consecutive slatwall tracks, flush with an unfinished wall to which the slatwall tracks are secured.